IN4 Group, in partnership with Salford City Council, has delivered over £4.6 million of social value back into the community in the last year.
The company has been awarded the Social Value Quality Mark level two for its transformational impact in the region through its flagship innovation and skills hub HOST, the Home of Skills & Technology.
This means that for every £1 IN4 invests in services and support, there is a £4.69 return of social impact into the Salford regional economy. Hub operator IN4 Group has been working closely with Salford City Council as part of its investment into skills and innovation, and ongoing commitment to establishing Greater Manchester as a leading digital city region.
The Group works with local authorities, academic institutions, the private sector and national government, operating in secondary cities and large towns to unlock potential and drive a high-skilled high growth economy.
Led by technology entrepreneurs Mo Isap and Andy Beaden, IN4 operates HOST in MediaCity, providing skills, innovation and startup growth services.
The value IN4 offers is broken down into five key areas: health and wellbeing (£1m), education and skills (£1.4m), employment and volunteering (almost £1m), social and community (approx. £150,000) and economic (£1.1m).
With offices based at MediaCity in Salford and Preston, IN4 has supported over 450 businesses from across the North West through its innovation and growth programmes, including the award-winning FreelanceHER 100 accelerator.
Women remain largely underrepresented in the tech sector (17% in the UK), and in a bid to drive gender parity in the industry, over 40% of the participants IN4 has supported through its programmes are female.
Mo Isap, CEO of IN4 Group, said: “We exist to ensure there is fair access to technology futures to all, individuals and organisations alike.
“Measuring the tangible success is critical to ensuring we remain accountable to our mission and we continue to deliver the social and economic return desired by our partners and clients.
“Most importantly, technology has a transformational quality not just to be able to do more, but for more people to be able to do more.”
Richard Dickins, founder of the Social Value Quality Mark, said: “We are pleased to present the Social Value Quality Mark Level 2 Award to IN4 Group as it joins other illustrious organisations to achieve this accolade. IN4 Group is absolutely committed to driving social value and local economic benefit through all its activities across the three pillars of skills, innovation and start-ups, and delivering positive outcomes through operating skills and innovation environments such as HOST in MediaCity.”